Ellora Caves,

Beautifully carved sculptures adorning the Kailasa Mandir, Cave No. 16, Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

Kailasa Temple has been dubbed as ‘Cave 16’ of the Ellora Caves, and is notable for being the largest monolithic structure in the world that was carved out of a single piece of rock. Apart from the temple’s impressive size, it is also remarkable for its sculptures, as well as for the fine workmanship of its other architectural elements. The Kailasa Temple [known also as the Kailasanatha (which translates as ‘Lord of Kailasa’) Temple] is an ancient Hindu temple located in the western Indian region of Maharashtra.

This temple is part of the Ellora Caves (UNESCO World Heritage Site), a religious complex consisting of 34 rock-cut monasteries and temples. This temple derives its name from Mount Kailasa, the Himalayan abode of the Hindu god Shiva. It is generally believed that this temple was constructed in the 8th century AD, during the reign of Krishna I, a ruler of the Rashtrakuta Empire. As the Kailasa Temple is supposed to represent the sacred mountain of Shiva, this temple was dedicated to this particular Hindu god. The construction of the Kailasa Temple is thought to have taken place between 757 and 783 AD. It has been commonly estimated that over this period of about two and a half decades, a total of 200,000 (other estimations range from 150,000 to 400,000) tons of rock were excavated out of a vertical basalt cliff in the Charanandri Hills to form the magnificent temple. It may be added that the temple was carved from top to bottom with only simple hammers and chisels.

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